Richmond contemplates new rules to stop pet dumping

Owners who abandon pets are tough to convict under B.C. law, but a municipal bylaw could act as a deterrent

Coconut was found abandoned in the bushes off Shell Road trapped inside a pet carrier more than a month ago. He is still recovering.

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG
, Vancouver Sun

The only reason the white Persian cat, described as "tame and lovable," survived was because nearby berry pickers in Richmond heard his wailing.

Somebody had left the cat in a carrier off Shell Road across from the Richmond Nature Park - to die or fend for itself. Another pet carrier was empty.

It's not clear how long the cat, since named Coconut, was there, but he was dehydrated and starving when his rescuers found him. He was sitting in his own urine and feces, which created an abscess that has required surgery.

A month later, Coconut is still recovering.

The incident - and others like it, particularly problems created by abandoned rabbits - has spurred the City of Richmond to consider amending its bylaws to prohibit dumping animals in the wild.

Richmond is possibly the first B.C. community to take action against pet dumping, which is welcome news to Richmond Animal Protection Society executive director Carol Reichart.

While people can be convicted for dumping pets under the province's Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, it rarely happens, she noted.

Convictions require substantial evidence and time.

Reichart said the municipal bylaw - which would likely give the city the power to levy fines - would act as a deterrent.

She noted the city has already banned the sale of puppies and rabbits in pet stores.

"They are very good about trying to get the problem solved," said Reichart.

The city has seen a spate of dump-ings recently.

A few weeks ago, a teacup Yorkie with an improperly-healed broken leg was left in a box in a hotel lobby in downtown Richmond.

The dog, now named Mouse, has needed major surgery.

On Tuesday, Reichart was dealing with a new case involving a cat and eight kittens left in a remote industrial area near No. 8 Road and Blundell.

The mother and kittens are living in a pile of big concrete blocks that workers have promised not to move until Reichart can trap and move the cats.

The mother cat was likely dumped because she was pregnant, she said.

City of Richmond spokesman Ted Townsend said people releasing their pets into the wild, parks and farmland is a "huge" ongoing problem.

He said Richmond is examining amendments to the animal control bylaw that would not only prohibit releasing animals to the wild, but ban feeding animals in the wild as well.

City staff are hoping to have amendments ready to bring to council to consider some time this fall, said Townsend.

Marcie Moriarty, the SPCA's man-ager of cruelty investigations, said the agency does not have any pet-dumping statistics but said it's "absolutely" a problem in the province.

News reports attest to that. Two months ago, a German shepherd was left for dead in a dumpster in Kitsilano in Vancouver. In January, there was a rash of cats dumped in Clearwater in the Interior, including an orange tabby found taped to the inside of a cardboard box at the end of a driveway.

In July, rabbits were dumped in Sooke on Vancouver Island.

And in the summer of 2011, kit-tens were dumped in a garbage can in Nanaimo.

Not only is abandoning domestic animals in the wild cruel, when they do survive, as can be the case with rabbits, it can create an overpopulation problem, said Moriarty.

She said she wasn't aware of a B.C. community that specifically prohibits abandoning or dumping pets into the wild.

Moriarty said she supports Richmond's effort to consider amending its bylaws because she agreed it's difficult to get convictions under the provincial law.

Vancouver has no specific measure banning pet dumping, but does ban depositing food or grain in its parks. An offence has a fine of $50 to $2,000.

Surrey does not have a bylaw banning pet dumping, relying instead on the SPCA to handle animal cruelty investigations.

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